Best place to get an ipod?

[Gatorade]

Ok since some of the saviest buyers I have ever seen are on this board I thought this would be a good place to pose this.

My daughter is autistic and one of the therapies we use, uses audio tracks played in a range of frequencies to stimulate listening and comprehension of sounds. We have been chasing her arround with a CD player but I am afraid it is too bulky and she likes the way the disks slide on the floor. :roll: (The therapudic discs cost $50 each by the way) So I just had the thought to get her a small ipod shuffle. I think there is one for $75 that would be perfect. I would also consider moving up in a model if the price is right but I don't need to get a 30gig video player just to play her songs.

Does anyone know of an online shop or coupon codes or something that makes for a great deal?

 

[kozulich]

Don't know the best place, but I understand that ipods can only download music from itunes, and they may not have the therapeutic sounds you want....

 

[Dennis]

I don't own one, but I am fairly certain that is not true. Also, I thought the price was fixed on iPods, but I could be wrong...

Dennis

 

[rtaylor61]

My daughter wants an iPod, and I will order it from the Apple website. They will engrave her name for free, and I believe also offer free shipping. I've never seen any "deals" on the iPod other than from sources I don't trust...but then I haven't really shopped for one other than checking the newspaper ads on Sunday.

Randy

 

[PalmettoB]

Since it is an Apple proprietary thing, you'll likely get your best deal at their website. I got one there last Christmas for my daughter, and, as Randy says, they do free laser engraving and you do get the free shipping. You might check Ebay, since Apple has new models out this year, so you might find a deal on last year's Nano or Shuffle that way. Or check Apple resellers, like MacConnection or MacMall, as sometimes they'll bundle nicer headphones or an iTunes gift card. Heck, Wal-mart has them for about the same price as the Apple website, but you just won't get the engraving.

 

[JMT]

I just ordered an Ipod from Apple.com. There was a special but it was not advertised. When I added the ipod to the cart the discount was just automatically given.

One problem with the shuffle is that you can not choose what song you want to play. All it does is shuffle. You can get a 2 gig Ipod nano for about $149. That would hold about 500 songs. It is true you can only download songs to the ipod from Itunes, but you can always import the songs you want into your itunes library from CD's or your hard drive.

Regarding discounts, the ipod has a locked price. You probably will not find much more than a one or two dollar difference from vendor to vendor. WHen I bought mine, Apple had the best deal because of free shipping and free engraving. Then the discount was added on top of that. My price for a 30gig video ipod was $228, which was $21 off the listed price.

 

[mmp13]

Ah, something that I actually know about.

Ipod's can play any CD that you RIP onto your computer. You will not have an issue with being able to play the sounds that you want.

With that being said I think that you will be best off with the shuffle provided the tracks do not have to be played in any particular order. They do not call it the shuffle for nothing. The more expensive IPods are also more fragile and have plastic glass which can be scratched easily (ie the class action lawsuit against apple by ipod nano owners with scratched screens).

The only deal that I have seen on the IPODS is the one from Audible.com that I got. Sign up for a year of service and you will get $100 of the IPOD of your choosing. Audible.com is a audiobook type place. Other than that wally world or amazon is probably the best place. I think apple keeps there price up there. The old supply and demand thing.

Have you thought about something without the apple name? I saw some ones that would probably fit the bill at wally world the other day for pretty cheap. How many discs do you want to put on the thing at once?

 

[fuerein]

I concur, the Apple webstore is likely going to be your best bet, most stores don't hold sales on Apple hardware frequently if ever. As for iTunes not having the specific music, that really isn't a problem as long as you have the CD you can use the iTunes program to rip the music into either MP3 or AAC (Apple's proprietary format), both of which work with the iPod.

 

[Gatorade]

The therapy disc can be uploaded to itunes just like a regular CD so that isn't a problem. It is actually best if the music is played using random so that she doesn't expect the next song. Also it insures to play all the tracks not just the first few.

Thanks for the input guys and keep it coming. I will search the bay as well.

 

[Gatorade]

Have you thought about something without the apple name? I saw some ones that would probably fit the bill at wally world the other day for pretty cheap. How many discs do you want to put on the thing at once?

That is an option as well but I have itunes on my Motorola SLVR phone so I was thinking I could create her own playlist and stuff like that and keep it all in the same family. She would only need one disc of songs at once as the recomended time is arround 30 minutes per session. You can do it a few times a day but not much more than that.

 

[geoff]

You can still hunt around locally and find deals though.

Electronics stores, staples, my local grocery store, all offer deals were you get x dollars off if you spend over a certain amount.

Try and find a discount of that type and purchase the ipod there.

Geoff

 

[Amyn]

Check out this site www.slickdeals.net the have really good deals on the ipod from time to time. I saw a refurbed 2g nano there for ~$100.

direct link
http://www.slickdeals.net/index.php?tag=ipod&f=

also check out http://www.macmall.com these guys sell all Apple products.

direct link to ipod shuffle
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/fami...//www.macmall.com/macmall/ipod/&wt.mc_id=8215

Hope that helps

 

[Limey]

I would follow the tips about and go through the apple.com store and get the laser engraving. You can go through the http://www.ebates.com site and get 1% off the price and then 3% off at Itunes in the future.

 

[Gatorade]

ebay seemed like it was within $5-$10 of the apple.com price on the shuffle. For that difference I would buy from a direct store like apple.com or the like.

Check out this site www.slickdeals.net the have really good deals on the ipod from time to time. I saw a refurbed 2g nano there for ~$100.

direct link
http://www.slickdeals.net/index.php?tag=ipod&f=

also check out http://www.macmall.com these guys sell all Apple products.

direct link to ipod shuffle
http://www.macmall.com/macmall/fami...//www.macmall.com/macmall/ipod/&wt.mc_id=8215

Hope that helps

I will check the refurbs as well. As long as there is some kind of a warranty I am cool with that.

 

[TraderJoe]

Ok since some of the saviest buyers I have ever seen are on this board I thought this would be a good place to pose this.

My daughter is autistic and one of the therapies we use, uses audio tracks played in a range of frequencies to stimulate listening and comprehension of sounds. We have been chasing her arround with a CD player but I am afraid it is too bulky and she likes the way the disks slide on the floor. :roll: (The therapudic discs cost $50 each by the way) So I just had the thought to get her a small ipod shuffle. I think there is one for $75 that would be perfect. I would also consider moving up in a model if the price is right but I don't need to get a 30gig video player just to play her songs.

Does anyone know of an online shop or coupon codes or something that makes for a great deal?

PM Sent.

 

[PeteT]

My only advice would be to be very wary of buying any kind of ipod from ebay, there are a lot of sharks out there and the ipod seems to be one of their favorites to rip you off with.

 

[berzerkeleyan]

One problem with the shuffle is that you can not choose what song you want to play. All it does is shuffle.

Sorry, but this is simply not true. Take a look at the image below. It's of the new iPod shuffle ($79), and you can clearly see that with the flip of a switch, one can elect to play songs in the order of the playlist you used when loading it, or in shuffle mode. This is true even with the old shuffle. I know b/c I own one.

Some can go on about Apple's monopoly on the digital audio player (DAP) market, and how anyone who buys Apple is a sheep following the herd. But the reality is that the iPod really does have the best integration between software and hardware of any DAP out there. They may not be as feature-rich as others (no FM radio, no stereo recording ability, not all audio formats supported), but they're still the best overall performer.

My $0.02.

 

[AandW]

Ipod's can play any CD that you RIP onto your computer. You will not have an issue with being able to play the sounds that you want.

This is true and itunes is VERY user friendly, making it easy to rip CD's. At least it is on a mac.

As far as deals go, Apple.com is really your best bet. It is a very trusted site. Also, they do give discounts to students, government workers and teachers. This page of the Apple site lists all the types of discounts and special pricing offered by Apple.

 

[PalmettoB]

Sorry, but this is simply not true. Take a look at the image below. It's of the new iPod shuffle ($79), and you can clearly see that with the flip of a switch, one can elect to play songs in the order of the playlist you used when loading it, or in shuffle mode. This is true even with the old shuffle. I know b/c I own one.

Some can go on about Apple's monopoly on the digital audio player (DAP) market, and how anyone who buys Apple is a sheep following the herd. But the reality is that the iPod really does have the best integration between software and hardware of any DAP out there. They may not be as feature-rich as others (no FM radio, no stereo recording ability, not all audio formats supported), but they're still the best overall performer.

My $0.02.

Well, they may not have FM as a native feature, but you can get a transmitter from Apple as an add-on, or get a third-party model, like I did for my daughter's. (At least on the Nano, I guess maybe you can't for a Shuffle.)

(Edit: and the Apple website itself offers refurbished ones that still can get the extended warranty.)

 

[ouch]

I would say that the best place to buy an iPod is on B&B's very own shave mall. Why? Because it seems every spammer on Earth is trying to unload them here.


Fortunately, we have a bunch of sharpshooters at the ready.